HEAVENLY
BRICKS

Honestly, what could I say about saints Peter and Paul to fit in a blog post? Libraries already exist about each of them, and I'm nowhere near qualified to contribute anything noteworthy to that canon.  Instead, I'd like to share Pope Francis' homily from today, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. (Translation by Catholic News Agency ) Lifetime:  First century Region:  Rome, Roman empire Patronages:  Fishers; Gentiles; Theologians; The Papacy Iconograpy:  Peter: keys to the kingdom; Paul: book or scroll of epistles; Together: lifting up a church building Feast Day:  June 29 On the feast of the two Apostles of this city, I would like to share with you two key words: unity and prophecy. Unity. We celebrate together two very different individuals: Peter, a fisherman who spent his days amid boats and nets, and Paul, a learned Pharisee who taught in synagogues. When they went forth on mission, Peter spoke to Jews, and Paul to pagans. And when their paths crossed, they could

After this, I promise I'm going to take a break from Irish saints for a few months. I'm so drawn to their stories of unabashed hyperbole, oneness with nature, and deep, childlike faith. But the rest of the world has some awesome saints too, and they deserve a spotlight as well! Anyway, today's saint is St. Kevin of Glendalough. As is often the case with Irish stories of the saints, his story stretches the limits of believability while making up for it by being just so heartwarming. Lifetime:  500s Region:  Glendalough, Ireland Patronages:  Blackbirds; Dublin Iconograpy:  Blackbird in hand; Unkempt hair and beard Feast Day:  June 3 Kevin was born to a wealthy noble family, but after converting, gave away his wealth and became a hermit. Kevin went out into the wilderness, the most remote area he could find, which turned out to be a cave tucked away on a cliff, which was too small to even stand in., Oh, and it was an ancient burial tomb, to add in a little extra creepy factor.